Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the Composite CPI (105.07) for October 2010 increased by 3.95% year-on-year, attributable to the price increase in Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages, Miscellaneous Goods & Services and Clothing & Footwear. Analyzed by section of goods and services, Clothing & Footwear (+8.25%); Miscellaneous Goods & Services (+6.77%); Health (+5.45%); Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+5.35%); and Transport (+4.76%) recorded notable increase on account of dearer prices of men’s clothing, women’s footwear, gold jewellery, gasoline, fresh seafood and vegetables, as well as higher charges for out-patient medical services and meals bought away from home.

Meanwhile, reduced charges for mobile phone services caused the price index of Communication to fall by 3.59% year-on-year.

The CPI-A (104.60) and CPI-B (105.19) for October 2010 increased by 3.69% and 4.08% year-on-year respectively.

The Composite CPI for October 2010 increased by 0.39% month-to-month, with the price indices of Clothing & Footwear; and Transport rising by 2.12% and 0.95% respectively on account of rising prices of new arrivals of Autumn and Winter clothing and gasoline. However, price index of Recreation & Culture fell by 0.92% due to lower charges for outbound package tours.

The average Composite CPI for the first ten months of 2010 increased by 2.58% year-on-year. For the 12 months ended October 2010, the average Composite CPI rose by 2.21% from the preceding period.

The 2008/2009-based Composite CPI reflects the impact of price changes on the general population. The CPI-A relates to about 50% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP6,000 to MOP18,999. The CPI-B relates to about 30% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP19,000 to MOP34,999.